Earlier today, the Charlotte Observer reported that the University of North Carolina at Charlotte had a federal grant for LGBTQ research terminated, along with 67 other LGBTQ-related grants across 49 universities, totaling $40 million in cuts by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in March. The termination comes less than six weeks after the university joined the top tier of research institutions in the nation with its new R1 classification.
All four terminated grants at UNC Charlotte were linked to LGBTQ issues or diversity and inclusion, totaling $905,873.
Professor Mennicke and her team had pursued federal funding for six years before receiving the grant last April, but it was abruptly terminated on March 20.
Mennicke described the situation as “traumatic,” noting that the grant focused on improving mental health outcomes for LGBTQ survivors of sexual violence. The termination letter criticized the project as “unscientific” and stated it no longer aligned with agency priorities.
This news coincided with biologist Jerry Coyne’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, “Losing my non-religion”, in which he explains why he resigned from a leading atheist group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, when it turned into a “gender fundamentalist organization.” due to its refusal to publish content implying that gender is biologically determined. Richard Dawkins left the organization for similar reasons a few months earlier.
As for Mennicke’s team at UNC-C, they had received just over $450,000 for a three-year study, with about $400,000 remaining unspent after six months. The research aimed to train peers in support techniques for survivors of sexual violence. “People often disclose to friends first, and if the response is harmful, it can worsen trauma,” she explained. Sonyia Richardson, a former researcher at UNC Charlotte, also lost NIH funding for her study on suicide prevention among Black youth, which included sexual orientation as a risk factor. The NIH is the largest public funder of medical research in the U.S. and supports many universities in North Carolina. Mennicke warned that these funding cuts could lead to worse mental health outcomes for LGBTQ survivors and decreased safety in the community. The economic impact is also significant, as NIH data indicates that every $1 in funding generates about $2.46 in economic activity.